Bubble blowing gun



Nov. 17, 1953 P. KOPF BUBBLE BLOWING GUN Filed June 18, 1951 INVENTOR.PHIL /P K OPF.

ATTORNEK v Patented Nov. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE v BUBBLEBLOWING GUN Philip Kopf, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application June 18, 1951, Serial No. 232,180 Claims. (01. 46-8) Thisinvention relates to a bubble blowing gun.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of a toy gunwhich may be used to blow a plurality of bubbles, from a single loadingthereof of bubble blowing solution, and a succession of trigger actions.

More specifically, the toy gun herein claimed may be filled with asufiicient quantity of bubble blowing liquid solution to provide for theblowing of many thousands of soap bubbles without refilling. It isnecessary, however, to cock the gun from time to time and each time thegun is cocked the trigger may be actuated to blow a plurality ofbubbles, and then again actuated several more times to repeat theprocess, before it is necessary to cook the gun again. The bubbleblowing gun herein claimed may be designated as a repeater, therefore,in two respects: In the first place, a single filling prov des it withsuflicient bubble blowing solution to enable it to blow many hundreds ofbubbles and in the second place, a single cooking of the gun enables itto blow a plurality of bubbles each of a number of times that thetrigger is reciprocated.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a self-cockingbubble blowing gun which automatically cocks itself in preparation for aserie of bubble blowing operations when the trigger is retractedpart-way. The gun is provided with the following elements: a reservoircontaining a bubble blowing solution, a film holding wand or loop, anair compressor and blower, and a trigger mechanism. The triggermechanism is connected both to the wand and to the air compressor andblower. The normal or inactive position of the loop is in the solution.When the trigger mechanism is initially actuated, that is when thetrigger is retracted to the ex-' tent of approximately half a stroke, itswings the loop out of the liquid and into operative position relativeto the air compressor and blower. The loop now holds a film of theliquid and it is ready for the bubble blowing operation. Furtherretraction of the trigger actuates the air compressor and blower anddirects a current of air against the film in th loop, thereby causingthe formation of a plurality of bubbles. The gun is clearly self-cockingin the sense that all that need be done to operate it is to pull thetrigger.

Another object of this invention is th provision of a bubble blowing gunof the. character described which has a reservoir for a substantialquantity of bubble blowing liquid and a cover for said reservoir whichautomatically closes the reservoir when the gun is not in use. This isan important feature since it tends to prevent spilling of the liquidout of the reservoir.

A preferred form of this invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a soap bubble blowing gun made in accordancewith this invention, the reservoir being shown closed and the triggerbeing shown in its forwardmost or inoperative position.

Fig. 2 is a front View thereof.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to that of Fig. 1, but showing the trigger inretracted or operative position, the reservoir being open and the bubbleblowing wand being shown in elevated, operative position.

Fig. 4 is a View similar to that of Fig, 2, but showing the reservoiropen and the bubble blowing wand in elevated, operative position.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to that of Fig. 3, but showing the gun invertical, longitudinal section to expose all of its working parts.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section showing how the trigger mechanism actsupon the bubble blowing wand.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 'I--"! of Fig. 6.

The bubble blowing gun Ill shown in the drawing includes a barrel l2, ahandle it attached to said barrel and a trigger it which is pivotallymounted on said handle by means of a pin or rivet It. It will be notedin the drawingthat barrel I2 is tubular and handle I4 is hollow. An

opening Ina is provided in the wall of the barrel so as to providecommunication between the inside of the barrel and the inside of thehandle. It will be noted in Fig. 5 that the upper end [612 of thetrigger projects into th barrel in order to actuate the air compressingand blowing mechanism which will hereinafter be described.

,At the muzzle end of the barrel is a pair of brackets 20, and a tank orcontainer 22 is supported by said brackets a spaced distance below andin front of the muzzle. Tank or container 22 is adapted to serve as areservoir for bubble blowing liquid 24 shown in Fig. 4. The top of thetank or container is open, and it is provided with a hinged cover 26-whieh is normally urged into closed position relative to the open top ofthe tank or container by means of a spring 28. The cover is hinged at26a at one side of the I barrel so that it moves past the muzzle end ofthe gun in its swinging movement downwardly into closed positionrelative to the tank or container and upwardly into elevated position,out of line with thelongitudinal axis of the barrel. A rubber gasket 26bis provided on cover 26 to prevent leakage of the bubble liquid 24between said cover and the top of the tank or reservoir when the coveris in closed position relative thereto.

At the muzzle end of the barrel i2 is a nozzle 38 having a pair oflongitudinally extending air pas sages 30a and 30?), respectively. Theseair passages are parallel to each other and to the longitudinal axis ofthe barrel, and they are disposed on opposite sides of said longitudinalaxis. At the opposite end of the barrel is a breech block 32 having acentrally disposed hole 32a formed therein in alignment with thelongitudinal axis of the barrel. mounted in the barrel as is a second.piston or plunger 36. The two pistons or plungersare' con- A piston orplunger 3 ll is,slid'ablsltank to push it upwardly into open positionwhen the loop is itself swung upwardly into operative position. Thisprojection also serves another important function: It will be understoodthat when the loop swings upwardly from the bubble blowing liquid in thetank, it carries a film of said liquid up with it. Surface tension wouldordinarily tend to anchor said film both to the wand and to. cover 2.6which said loop engages. It is, of course, necessary toublow the filmoff .the loop in order to form bubbles. Projection 44a tends to. weakenthe attraction or adhesion of the film nected to each other by means ofarod 38 -whicl r 1' extends longitudinally of the barrel along itslongitudinal axis. A leather or fiber washer 4-0 is secured to that sideof piston 34 which faces nozzle 30:. A compression spring 42 is mountedin the barrel, its forward endbearing againstnozzle 3i! and its backendbearing against-washei'-4U. The action of the spring is to'tend tothrust the entire piston assembly backwardly, and reference is here madeto the two pistons 34.and.36; rod 38 and washerMl: When said-pistonassembly is thrust backwardly, the backend of rod 38 enters and projectsthrough hole 32a in breech block 32. It will be-understoodthat the twopistons serve to support eachother. by means of rod 38 in properposition in barrel i2- forsliding movement therein. Opening ainbarrel [2would tend to defeat-this. purpose since it would deprive piston 35 ofadequate support. It is at this point thatrod 38' enters hole 32a andbecomes self-supporting in axial alignment with the barrel.

It has been statedthat the upper end a of the trigger projects upwardlyinto the. barrel through opening 3a.. It will be seen from the drawingsthat said upper end Ilia is bifurcated, and that it straddlesrodw',oneofthe furcations lBa being clearly visible in Fig. 5. It will also beseen in said- Fig. 5 that said bifurcated end-Ilia of the triggerengages the back side of piston 36. Hence,'when the trigger'ispulled-backwardly by the child using-the gun, its upper bifurcated" endmoves forwardly and pushes the entire pieton assemblyforwardlyagainst'the action of spring- 42. This has the'efiectof compressing theair in the barrel, that is, in-that portion of'the barrel which liesbetweenwasher 40 and nozz-le- 30, and it has the further effectof-blowing said" air'forwardly through passages 34m and- 30b, -respectively. This is clearly shown in Fig. 3-. Whenthe trigger isreleased, in whole or in part; its upper end moves backwardly inresponseto-the action of the spring the entirepiston assembly alsomovesbackwardly at the'same time; The effect is to place the triggerinposition for furtheruse and to draw air into the barrelthrough saidpassages 30a and30b.

A bubble blowing wireloop 44 is provided, having a shank 46 which isbent at right angles to the plane of the loop. The shank is journaled'into-a boss 48- in theback wal1 22iz or the tank or container 22. It isbyreason of this arrangement, and with shank 45 serving as a pi-ntl'e orfulcrum, that the loop is'enabled to swing upwardly intooperativeposition and downwardlyinto inoperative position; It will be 'notedthatloop 44. is ring shaped'with a small projection d l'a extending radially'outwardly therefrom.- It" is this projection, which engages. the cover:of the to said cover and, therefore, renders it possible to blowbubblesby blowing air against the film.

. A coupling 50 secures shank 46 to a fiat bar 52.

'Morepre'cisely, said coupling is pinned to the adjacent-ends of saidshank and said bar. At the opposite end of bar 52 is a twisted portion52a. Although the drawing shows a plurality of twists or turns, only asingle twist of approximately degrees is required" for the purposes ofthis invention.

I A tube E l-is pivotally secured at its back end tov trigger I 6 bymeans of pin 56, located intermedi ate the pin wand the bifurcated endportionifia. The forward end of tube 5 3 receives bar52; as Figs. Sand 6clearly-show A cap 58 having a rectangular slot til formed therein isaffixed tothe forward endof said tube 54. Bar 52 projectsthrough slotBil as Fig.7 clearly-shows andsince the bar 'isrectangular incross-section tocorre spend to the shape of the slot relative angularmovement: between the-bar and cap 5B is pre vented; but thecapisfreetoimove longitudinally ofnthebar. Sincecap Ellis fixed to tube 54,what is said of therrelationship between the cap and the bar is equallytrue of the relationship. between'thetube and the bar.

When. the trigger is pulled: backwardly its. upper portionmovesiorwardly and with it'tube 54 which is. connected :thereto. Thestarting position of the tube is shown by means of dot-and dashlinesinsFig. 6, and it'will there be seen thatthe cap is positioned onone sideofthe twist in the: bar-. As the-tube moves'forwardly. its captraverses-'the twisted-portion of the bar and since the :tubecannot'rotate by reason of its being pinned to thetrigger, it causes thebar to turn aitullnilfiflr-idegrees. This turning movement of the baron:itstown' longitudinal axis takes place as: the tube moves the distancebetween lines 62 and St. ina'Fig; 6. The curved arrow A indicatesthi'sii turning movement of the bar. Further forwardtmovementoithe tubefrom line 6 to-the line liliihasino effect upon the angular positionofiitheLban; and this is indicated by means f the straight :arrow B;Arrow B is provided with a head at both-ends to indicatetravelin bothdirectiona:

When the initialf-orward movement of tube 55 causes bar 52 toturn; theeffect is to cause the wand'or loopMf to turn with said barand toswing:upwardiyz-fromthe tank into elevated position as shown in Fig. 5; Theloop. is now positioned in front :of thenozzle and. sinceithas-"beenbrought up. fromathe liquid in the tank-,'it is now-coveredwith as film of. said. liquid; Furtherforwardmovement of: tube EGE andbackward-movement between the limits. indicated by lines 64 and 6%producesmmefieot whatsoever upon: the positional aspect ofebar'52s; andhence. of loop M. Stated differentlmturther. retraction or the triggerdoes not change thezp'osition. ofathe loopanol said loop remainsinoperative position in fironta or the nozzle; Further retraction of:the; trigger doeshave the effect, however, of blowing air through tivelyconnected to said piston, whereby working.

the nozzle and against the liquid film on the wand, thereby causing theformation of bubbles 68. The liquid film is identified in Fig. 3 bymeans of the reference character ill, and it is there shown somewhatdeformed under the pressure of the air and in process of beingtransformed, in part, into a bubble. The trigger may be worked in bothdirections within the range indicated by lines 64 and 66, so as toprovide a series of air currents directed against the liquid film. Whenthe film is completely blown away, the trigger may be released, and itwill move forwardly under the influence of spring 42. This will have theeffect of retracting tube 54 to its initial position. Its cap 58 must,therefore, traverse the twist in bar 52, and it will thereby cause saidbar to turn in the opposite direction from the direction in which it wascaused to turn on the forward movement of tube 5 Consequently, the loopis caused to swing back into the liquid in the tank where it acquires arenewed film. The movement of the loop in this direction is furthered bythe action of spring 28 on cover 26 of the tank since said cover bearsagainst the loop under the influence of said spring 28.

An important feature of this invention is the shape of tank or container22. It will be noted in Figs. 2 and 4 that the bottom wall of the tankis arcuate in shape, and it will be understood that said arcuate wall issubstantially equidistant at all points from the horizontal shank 46 ofloop 44. The radial distance from said shank to said arcuate wallexceeds, however, the radial distance from said shank to the top of theloop. Hence it is possible to swing the loop a full 180 degrees from itselevated position in Fig. 4 to a vertically opposite position adjacentthe bottom of the tank. Hence the wand will be enabled to take on a filmof the bubble-making liquid even though a substantial quantity of theliquid has been consumed and only a small quantity thereof remains atthe bottom of the tank. It will be noted in Figs. 2 and 4 that a pair oflegs 12 and I l, respectively, are attached to the bottom wall of thetank. The lower ends of these legs are beveled off, as shown in Figs. 1,3 and 5, and it will be understood that these legs may be employed as astand tosupport the gun on a horizontal surface, such as a table. Insuch case, the gun would stand in tripod fashion, the two legs and thetrigger constituting the three points of support. It will be understoodthat the gun will tilt forwardly and downwardly when it stands in thismanner but it will further be understood that the shape of the tanktogether with the cover which closes it will prevent the liquid fromspilling out of the tank when the gun is in tilted position.

The foregoing is illustrative of a preferred form of this invention. Itwill be understood, however, that the specific construction shown in thedrawing may be modified in many ways and other constructional forms ofthe invention may be provided, within the broad spirit of the inventionand the broad scope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A bubble blowing gun of the character described, comprising a barrel,a nozzle at the muzzle end of the barrel, a handle at the breech end ofthe barrel, a piston assembly in the barrel intermediate the nozzle andthe handle, a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on saidhandle, the upper end of said lever being operathe lever relative to thehandle actuates the piston and causes it to blow air out of the barrelthrough the nozzle, a tank containing bubble-making liquid secured tothe muzzle end of the barrel, a spaced distance below and in front ofthe nozzle, a liquid-tight closure pivoted on said tank and spring-urgedto closed position, a pivotally mounted loop in said tank, and a linkconnecting said lever to said loop, whereby working the lever relativeto the handle causes the loop to pivot out of the tank and into linewith the nozzle, and means to raise the closure in advance of the loop.

2. A bubble blowing gun in accordance with claim 1, wherein the loopcomprises a ring mount ed on a shank, said ring having a smallprojection formed thereon and extending radially outwardly therefrom,said projection serving to contact and lift the closure in advance ofthe ring. 3. A bubble blowing gun of the character described, comprisinga barrel, a nozzle at the muzzle end of the barrel, a handle at thebreech end of the barrel, a spring-urged piston assembly in the barrel,a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the handle, the upperend of the lever engagingsaid piston assembly to move the piston,whereby retraction of the lower end of the lever causes the upper end topivot forwardly and to thrust the piston forwardly against the action ofthe spring, thereby causing a current of air to be blown out of thebarrel through the nozzle, a tank containing bubble-making liquidsecured to the muzzle end of the barrel a spaced distance below and infront of the nozzle, a wand which is pivotally mounted on said tank forpivotal movement in one direction into inoperative position in said tankand in the opposite direction into operative position in front of thenozzle, and a reciprocating link operatively connecting said lever tosaid wand, one end of said link being pivotally secured to said lever ata point intermediate the levers fulcrum and its upper end, theconnection between the other end of said link and the wand includingmeans to convert the linear movement of the link when the lever isworked, to rotary movement of the wand, whereby retraction of the lowerend of the lever causes the wand to pivot out of the tank into operativeposition in front of the nozzle and whereby forward movement of thelower end of the lever causes the wand to pivot from its operativeposition in front of the nozzle back to its inoperative position in thetank, said wand comprising a ring mounted on a shank which is disposedin parallel relation to the longitudinal axis of the barrel and whichconstitutes the pivot on which the wand swings between its inoperativeand operative positions, the link between said wand and the levercomprising a fiat bar which is connected at its forward end to saidshank and which is twisted at its back end about its ownlongltudinalaxis approximately and a tube whose forward end accommodates said fiatbar and whose back end is connected to the lever, whereby the tube isfixed against angular movement about its own longitudinal axis, saidtube being provided at its forward end with a slotted cap which engagesthe fiat bar and transforms the linear movement of the tube when thelever is worked, to angular movement of the flat bar when the slottedcap enters into engagement with the twisted portion of said bar, therebycausing the shank to which said bar is connected and the ring on saidshank to pivot.

4. A bubble blowing gun of the character described, comprising a barrel,a nozzle at the muzzlefendx of.-::the:barrel, -a.'handle at. thwhneeoh.end of the barrel,. aspringeur'ged piston assembly thebarrel; a. lever.pivotally mounted: nterlmfid fil fe its; ends. onthe. handle-b the.upper end of; the lever engaging said1-pistonassemhlr toxmove: th h s:ten; whereby r traction of the. lower end. oi the lever (232135 111116upper. nd to pivotltorwardly and to. thrust the piston forwardlyagainstthevaetiqn 0f; the spring; thereby causing; aourrent of. air t0:be, blown out oi the barrel through ..the nozzle ata k: ta n ng, hlermakine iq id. se ured to themuzzleend of thebarrelaspaoeddistanoebe-.. low. and in. front. of. the. inozzle awand which. ispivotally mounted on said tank for pivotal movement in onedireotion into.-inoperati ve position in, said tankand in the oppositedirectioninto,opera.-. tiVQ-POSitiOI-l in front of, the nozzle, and. a,recipro eating link .operatively connecting 'saidelever to.- said wand,one end ot said linkheing pivotally secured tosaid. leverata point.intermediate the levers. fulcrum and its upper end theconnection.between the other end of;said. link; and the. mound including means toconvert. the linear movement, of the, link when-the. lever is worked, torotary movement of the wandmavhereby retraction Ofthe lower; end of thelever. causes the. wand totpivot out of the tank. intooperative positionin front of the nozzleand. whereby forward movement of the. lower, endof: the lever causes-the, wand toupivot from, itsoperative position infront of the nozzle back. to its inoperative position in the tankLsaidliquid containing. tank, beingv provided with a hinged. cover and aspring which e,ngag es; said cover and;.-urges it, into closed.positiono lsaid tank, said wand beingpivotally mounted forengagemntwithsaid cover when thewand is swung upwardly from its inoperativeposition in thetank to its. operative. positionin. front of the; nozzle.whereby thewand pushes theicover to open. position, against the actionvof the spring when the wand. moves from inoperative to operativeposition, and whereby the, wandreleasesthe cover for backward movementinto. closed position in re sponse. to the action of its. spring whenthe wand; moves. from operativebaek to inoperativepposi tion.

. A bubble. blowing, gun comprising a. barrel, a nozzle, atethe. muzzleend. of: the: barrel a. hens die tthebr e h nd Qt-theberrel,apistonassemr bly' in. the barrel; intermediatetheino le aml the handle,a. lever pivotally. mountedtinterm diateiits ends onsaid; handle, theupper end oiisaidll ver; being operatively connectedztn said pistonwhereby: working-the lever relative to,- the. handle ace tuates: the,piston and. causes it. to blow: air; out of: the-barrel; through thenozzle,. a: tank: Qontamin ubble-making; liquidcsecured to, themnzzleendi of the-barrel aspacedidistance below andiniront: of. thenozzle, a" pivotaliy. mounted wand; imsaid. tankand: meansconneoting;..said:: lever to said-z. wand; and actuated:bywearwardmorement; or the lower arm of. the lever: sequentially to.raise. the wand: and then to; causethepistonto. blowzair outofthebarrelby reciprocating; strokes of: the leven. said. means comprising a; flatbar which isacone nested at its. forward end tov said: wand aniwhieb istwisted at. its, back endabout its own. longi: tudinal axisapproximately 1:809; and. anelement having its. rear endconnected to;the: upper arm; of: the-lever. whereby it. is. fixed-against. angular:movement about. itseown longitudinal axis, said; element :having on.its'forward end a. slotte.clunein x 23 her which. embraces. the flat.barand' transforms;

PHlL PKO -E References. Cited in the; fil'euo'fl this patent;

UN TED ST TE BATE- 318 Number Name -Date 1-,918,122 Naue -July'11'-,1933* 2512;732 Holman Dec; 6; 1946 2518,627. Lorenz Aug; 15,19512560,5132 Limber Ju1y 1='7",195 l 2,574,117 Luci-wig; -Nov. 6; 195 12581;535 Seott- Febi'26, 1952- 2;58 l ,536 Scott Feb. 26-, 1 952

